Our store in Ledbury is stocked to the rafters with not only our own produce, but cider and other drinks from 25+ other local producers from Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire (and occaisional guest ciders from further afield!)

Cropsharers

We run two novel orchard schemes - Dragon Orchard Cropsharers and a Sponsor a Tree scheme - click on the menu for details

Events

We host a number of tours and events throughout the year, from orchard walks and cider tastings to poetry festival events and more... See our events page for more details.

Ellis Bitter cider apple.

A full bittersweet variety, with lots of tannins and rich flavours - a lovely component in many of our blended ciders

Our store in Ledbury is stocked to the rafters with not only our own produce, but cider and other drinks from 25+ other local producers from Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire (and occaisional guest ciders from further afield!)

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About Us

About Dragon Orchard

Dragon Orchard is a small traditional fruit farm that has been tended by the same family for nearly 90 years. The 22 acre orchard is set in the south eastern corner of the rolling Herefordshire countryside, near Ledbury, close to the Malvern Hills.

Norman and Ann Stanier returned to the family fruit farm in 1993 to take over the running of the orchard from Norman's parents. Whilst the growing practices have remained much the same, the markets for the fruit have changed hugely due to the dominance of supermarkets and imported fruit from around the world.

Dragon Orchard has been innovative in championing local food and over the past few years has helped bridge the gap between producers and consumers with its Cropsharers and Sponsor A Tree scheme.

About Once Upon A Tree

What happens when you let an award winning winemaker loose with the fruit of one of thebest apple orchards in the country?

Launched 3rd May 2008, speciality food & drink enthusiasts, Ann & Norman Stanier and Hannah & Simon Day, founded Once Upon A Tree through a passion to create the best quality apple juice and cider from the highest quality fruit, whilst continuing to preserve the heritage and tradition of cidermaking in the area.

The apples are sourced, and the juice and cider made at Ann & Norman’s Dragon Orchard situated in the heart of the traditional apple growing area of Putley near the Marcle Ridge in Herefordshire. With a combination of good orchard management, fantastic soils and perfect mesoclimate, the fruit produced is some of the best available anywhere in the UK, with the apples attaining full ripeness yet retaining character and flavour. Juice and Cider maker, Simon Day is an experienced professional winemaker who decided to turn his hand to cider making after walking through the local orchards and seeing the potential to use winemaking skills to capture the true characters of the apples in the juice and ciders.

Community Supported Agriculture

The basis of Community Supported Agriculture is developing a relationship between a farmer(s) and the community that consumes their produce founded on an understanding of mutual support. The farmer or grower benefits by receiving a fair return on their products and a guaranteed market enabling them to invest their time in growing the food rather than looking for customers. Consumers benefit enormously by receiving fresh locally produced food from a known location with an understanding of how it is produced. The local economy is stimulated by consumers supporting local businesses.

The Soil Association have actively promoted CSAs through a Big Lottery funded support project Making Local Food Work. The Soil Association feel that reconnecting consumers with producers may be the single most important strategy for breaking away from industrial agriculture and moving towards more sustainable farming that meets the needs of both consumers and producers. CSA has a valuable role to play in redeveloping these connections. Dragon Orchard Cropsharers, which was set up in 2001, is a grower-led CSA initiative and one of the longest running CSAs in the UK.

Once on the A438 Hereford - Ledbury road, 1/4 mile after the Trumpet cross roads (traffic lights), take left turning sign posted to Pool End, then immediately left towards Putley Green. Dragon Orchard is about 3/4 mile on right hand side opposite another turning.